Sci-Fi Storm

Comments from Jane Trantor, Controller of Fiction at the BBC, has apparently fueled rumors that a feature film of Doctor Who may be in the works. Rumors apparently started because of the “gap year” between airing the fourth and fifth series, with the fifth not airing until 2010. The article also mentions speculation (which I heard months ago direct from England, bad me for not posting it) that Jasmes Nesbitt (Jekyll) might be gearing up to replace David Tennant as the Doctor, although it isn’t certain that Tennant is planning to leave the role. And there is even speculation that Billie Piper might be involved as well.

TheThunderChild writes “The new contest at The Thunder Child has cash prizes ($25, $15, $5) and NO entry fee, so that should make our readers happy! All you have to do is write a 100-word Drabble. No more, no less than 100 words. Evoking a scene or an entire science fiction or fantasy movie. Entries will be put online immediately, our readers will vote for their favorite drabbles and the votes will be tallied on the page and viewable immediately! For more details see: http://thethunderchild.com/Triskelion/SciFiDrabbles.html“

The new on-demand science fiction network Illusion (first mentioned here) officially lit up today, carried at least on Verizon FiOS and possibly several other networks. Check out their official site for programming, and you can watch some of it online as well. I can see some classics like the original Doctor Who (starting in January 2008) and Day of the Triffids are there, along with newer fare like Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Looks interesting, but I don’t have Verizon FiOS quite yet (invested in several hacked DirecTV TiVo units so I can watch programs on whatever TV I need to, and don’t have an HD TV yet to justify the change).

I hadn’t heard of this before, but now I have to get a copy. David Hewlett, best known as Dr. Rodney McKay on Stargate Atlantis, wrote and directed A Dog’s Breakfast, and included a number of his co-stars in it. It’s a comedy about the obsessive Patrick (Hewlett), who goes killer crazy when his sister (real life sister Kate Hewlett, who appeared in Atlantis as – shocking – his sister) introduces her fiance (Paul McGillion, Dr. Beckett on Atlantis), who is the star of a real cheesy SF show called The Starcrossed. It also features Rachel Lutrell (Stargate Atlantis) and Christopher Judge (Stargate SG-1).

For the Star Trek geek with (a LOT of) disposable income and haven’t bought any of the previous iterations of DVDs yet, Paramount releases the 49-disc Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Complete Series DVD set. All seven seasons in one box. Prefer the older, larger packaging? You can still get all 7 season sets in one package (currently $5 more), and check out the Sci-Fi TV Store if you just need to fill in some seasons…

A special effects technician working on the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Night, was killed in London when the camera platform truck he was driving during a practice run struck a tree.

The Producer writes “The television crew from Sci Fi Central have just returned from an unprecedented tour of Lucasfilm and Skywalker Ranch where we have filmed segments for our new TV series.

We have filmed Star Wars actress Bonnie Piesse who hosts our show, plus DJ interviews Skywalker Sound?s Matthew Wood (the voice of General Grievous) and Producer Rick McCallum.

We had a fantastic 45 minute talk with Rick in which he talks about everything from his early career as a Producer to the prospect of George?s son Jett Lucas coming up with his own story ideas and whether Darth Vader may or may not be in the television series.”

Read More for a snippet.

(continue reading…)

Robert Jordan, author of The Wheel of Time book series, passed away yesterday afternoon after battling a rare blood disease (primary amyloidosis with cardiomyapathy). He first announced he was suffering from it last year, but he had an excellent attitude in the face of the fatal disease.

Stargate Atlantis Season 3 comes out on Tuesday, September 18th. Read More for a review of the DVD set, and get prepared for Season 4, which starts September 28th on the SCI FI Channel.

(continue reading…)

I just learned that the BBC series Jekyll, written and created by Steven Moffat (who wrote several of the most popular – and scary – episodes of the new Doctor Who) and which recently aired in the U.S. on BBC America, will be released on Region 1 DVD on Tuesday, September 18th. If you are unaware of the show, it is a modern take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Dr. Tom Jackman has a problem – he blacks out, and finds himself in other places, having done horrible things. He comes to an uneasy truce with his alter ego, “sharing” time with it, and trying to keep his family a secret from it. When his alter ego finds out about his family, Tom finds out that its only the beginning…and that they story of Dr. Jekyll may not have been fiction.

I can’t speak highly enough of James Nesbitt in this show. He manages to pull off not only the completely different personalities, but actually give the personalities completely different looks…but I kept picturing him breaking through a door and going “Here’s Johnny!” from The Shining…